Viking Leather lamellar Armour; lamellar Cuirass; Leather Armor; Viking Armor

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Robert L. Coleman (SCA) has written a guide to making steppe lamellar, including a useful bibliography and list of archaeological examples. Note that this shows the conventional steppe lamellar, not the distinctive Byzantine method. Depiction and description of a kuyak hat from Fedor Solntsev's "Ancients of the Russian State" (1849–53). During the Song dynasty (960–1279) it became fashionable to create warts on pieces of armour to imitate cold forged steel, a product typically produced by non-Han people in modern Qinghai. Warts created from cold work were actually spots of higher carbon in the original steel, thus aesthetic warts on non-cold forged steel served no purpose. According to Shen Kuo, armour constructed of cold forged steel was impenetrable to arrows shot at a distance of 50 paces. Even if the arrow happened to hit a drill hole, the arrowhead was the one which was ruined. [69] However crossbows were still prized for their ability to penetrate heavy armour. [70]

A small metal plate from south-central France, tentatively dated to the 10th/11th century, has been speculatively reconstructed as part of scale armour or a coat of plates, though the interpretation is very contentions. There are depictions of Sicilo-Normans wearing lamellar in the late eleventh and twelfth century, under heavy Islamic cultural and military influence. This should be seen as an extension of the Byzantine and middle Eastern world and does not provide useful evidence for western Europe. In this way, the Mongols avoided the more painful process of breaking the arrow’s shaft, forcing it into the skin, and pushing the arrowhead remnants out of the skin. Ancient armour [ edit ] Early Warring States bronze helmet Warring States bronze helmet Western Zhou period shields from a tomb of the state of Guo Warring States rectangular shield (91.8cm tall, 49.6cm wide), from the state of Chu Shang dynasty (c. 1600 BC–c. 1046 BC) [ edit ]Later at the beginning of the 15th century construction of laminar armour had significantly changed; instead of lacing being used, strips of new laminar armour were riveted to broad straps (like in lorica segmentata). As a result, laminar armour became more reliable than lamellar armour: hidden straps couldn't be cut without the armour being penetrated, the broad straps did not require continuous mending, and the straps were stiffer and more durable than the thinner lacing that was used previously. Laminar armour eventually became more popular than lamellar armour, and almost fully replaced lamellar armour by the end of 15th century.

Laminar armour (from Latin: lamina – layer) is an armour made from horizontal overlapping rows or bands of, usually small, solid armour plates called lames, [1] as opposed to lamellar armour, which is made from individual armour scales laced together to form a solid-looking strip of armour. do.-- Medieval Chinese Armies: 1260-1520; illustrated by David Sque, Osprey Publishing «Men-at-arms», ISBN 1-85532-254-4 Lamellar armour of leather (more appropriately considered untanned or superficially tanned rawhide), bronze and iron appeared by the mid-4th century BC. It consisted of individual armour pieces (lamellae, lamella singular) that were either riveted or laced together to form a suit of armour. [6] Iron helmets constructed with multiple lamellae began to replace the one piece bronze helmets of old. One sample discovered in Yi county, Hebei Province was composed of 89 lamellae, averaging 5cm x 4cm. [7] During the late 2nd century BC, the government created a monopoly on the ironworks, which may have caused a decrease in quality of iron and armour. Bu Shi claimed that the resulting products were inferior because they were made to meet quotas rather than for practical use. These monopolies as debated in the Discourses on Salt and Iron were abolished by the beginning of the 1st century AD. In 150 AD, Cui Shi made similar complaints about the issue of quality control in government production due to corruption: "...not long thereafter the overseers stopped being attentive, and the wrong men have been promoted by Imperial decree. Greedy officers fight over the materials, and shifty craftsmen cheat them... Iron [i.e. steel] is quenched in vinegar, making it brittle and easy to... [?] The suits of armour are too small and do not fit properly." [24] Several weapons (including the kesja and the höggspjót) appearing in the sagas are Viking halberds. No weapon matching their descriptions have been found in graves. These weapons may have been rare, or may not have been part of the funerary customs of the Vikings. A more likely explanation however is that these polearms are descriptions of early medieval weapons that have been added into the sagas; likely because they were written down during the same period.Oriental Armour, H. Russell Robinson, Publisher Courier Dover Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-486-41818-9, ISBN 978-0-486-41818-6 P.6-7 Sassanian Elite Cavalry Ad 224-642, Author Kaveh Farrokh, Publisher Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 9781841767130 P.16 Wagner, Donald B. (2008), Science and Civilization in China Volume 5-11: Ferrous Metallurgy, Cambridge University Press Swope, Kenneth M. (2009), A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592–1598, University of Oklahoma Press The smaller shield sizes came from the pagan period for the Saxons and the larger sizes from the 10th and 11th centuries. Most shields are shown in illuminations as being painted a single colour although some have a design painted onto them; the most common designs are simple crosses or derivations of sun wheels or segments. The few round shields that survived have much more complicated designs painted on them and sometimes very ornate silver and gold work applied around the boss and the strap anchors. [27]

In Asia, lamellar armor eventually overtook scale armour in popularity as lamellar restricted the user's movements much less than scale armour. [1] Use and history [ edit ] Lamellar armour worn by Koryak people The brigandine is sometimes confused with the haubergeon, while the name is often confused with the brigantine, a swift small sea vessel. [4] Construction [ edit ] In the 3rd century BC, both iron weapons and armour became more common. According to the Xunzi, "the hard iron spears of Wan (宛) [a city in Chu, near modern Nanyang (南陽), Henan] are as cruel as wasps and scorpions." [8] Iron weapons also gave Chinese armies an edge over barbarians. Han Fei recounts that during a battle with the Gonggong (共工) tribe, "the iron-tipped lances reached the enemy, and those without strong helmets and armour were injured." [9] The effectiveness of bronze axes and shields may have been superseded by new iron weaponry and armor. [9] The efficiency of crossbows however outpaced any progress in defensive armour. It was considered a common occurrence in ancient China for commoners or peasants to kill a lord with a well aimed crossbow bolt, regardless of whatever armour he might have been wearing at the time. [10] By the Three Kingdoms period many cavalrymen wore armour and some horses were equipped with their own armour as well. In one battle, the warlord Cao Cao boasted that with only ten sets of horse armour he had faced an enemy with three hundred sets. [28] The horse armour may however have just been metal partial frontal barding or a mixture of metal and rawhide barding rather than fully comprehensive all metal barding. [29] Lamellar armour – a suit of metal plates thonged together, giving a similar appearance to roofing tiles (viewed from upside down) - is widely regarded as an alternative to maille body armour.

A distinct class of early single edged swords is known from Eastern Norway at the time. These had the same grips as the double edged swords, and blades of comparable length. The blades varied from long and slim, like the more common two edged swords, to somewhat heavy, giving the weapon a more cleaver-like balance. [13] Confusingly, the same finds are sometimes classified as "sabres" or "seaxes" in English literature. [14] Huaiwen made sabres [dao 刀] of 'overnight iron' [su tie 宿鐵]. His method was to anneal [shao 燒] powdered cast iron [sheng tie jing 生鐵精] with layers of soft [iron] blanks [ding 鋌, presumably thin plates]. After several days the result is steel [gang 剛]. Soft iron was used for the spine of the sabre, He washed it in the urine of the Five Sacrificial Animals and quench-hardened it in the fat of the Five Sacrificial Animals: [Such a sabre] could penetrate thirty armour lamellae [zha 札]. The 'overnight soft blanks' [Su rou ting 宿柔鋌] cast today [in the Sui period?] by the metallurgists of Xiangguo (襄國) represent a vestige of [Qiwu Huaiwen's] technique. The sabres which they make are still extremely sharp, but they cannot penetrate thirty lamellae. [41] Debunking Common Misconceptions about Lamellar Armor in Popular Culture Misconception: Lamellar Armor is Inflexible and Restrictive

As with maille hauberks, the length of lamellar armour varied. Cavalry typically used a straightforward ‘cuirass’ covering the torso, leaving the arms uncovered, and generally not extending below the belt. By the twelfth century, infantry lamellar often included a ‘skirt’ of inverted lames covering the groin and extending to mid-thigh or knee-length. Similarly inverted lamellar sections often provided elbow-length sleeves.

Lamellar Armor in East Asia

Manufacturing chain mail or plate armor required high-intensity work methods and permanent buildings that were not feasible under nomadic conditions. Contrary to popular belief, lamellar armor does not hinder mobility as much as commonly portrayed. While it may not offer the same level of flexibility as lighter armors like chainmail, skilled wearers can still move relatively freely. The individual lamellae are typically attached using flexible materials such as leather or fabric, allowing for some degree of movement and articulation. Misconception: Lamellar Armor is Heavy and Cumbersome This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sourcesin this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Military technology of the Vikings from the late 8th to the mid-11th century Viking landing at Dublin, 841, by James Ward (1851-1924)